CoD Leaker Doubles Down On Belief That Xbox's Next Console Will Arrive In 2026

I'm good with my series x for the next few years no matter what comes out to be honest especially if it's going to be similarly priced to the ps5 pro I'm not spending that amount on a console any time soon!

I'm more interested in vision of Xbox ecosystem moving forward. It's pretty clear that it doesn't make sense for Xbox to make closed ecosystem like they used to do, because with them moving to multiplatform releases, it would be death sentence for the hardware and support from third-party devs.

I don't have plans to leave Xbox ecosystem, so I would be obviously interested into new hardware. Series X will be 6 years old and it have served me well. So I would welcome more horsepower even for higher price.

It's certainly possible that it releases in 2026. I am not expecting it to be anything special in terms of a huge step forward. Bonds wild assertions about greatest technical leaps will be AI integration but performance wise it won't be anything crazy. I expect all games to still release on series x/s.

With high software tie ratio and subscription numbers, Xbox is very profitable. The profit is made with software sale, 90% of overall Xbox sales and excluded from the charts posted by gaming sites like NL, that posts that the Xbox version of the latest game has sold 2% on Xbox, plus subscribers. Xbox is profitable, but Series S is often out of stock, let alone Series X. People are speculating about this with thousands of comments, but the real reasons only Microsoft knows.

One possibility is that the next generation is closer than expected and initially planned or that they are expanding the Cloud servers. We'll see. In the meantime, all Xbox players I know are happy with the platform and services.

If the future and I don't mean the next generation consists of PC-like consoles, at least Xbox is already prepared for that: Windows OS, Play Anywhere, cross-platform saves, etc. I really don't think that consoles will remain walled gardens forever, not even Nintendo's, but PC-like devices with access to different stores and subscription services, similar to what happened to the film and music industries.

@themightyant biggest tech leap is just marketing. I don’t think anyone should hold out for that.

It would make sense or explain why in yesterdays article that Microsoft seem really uninterested in selling series consoles that much, with stock issues and no special deals in the UK over Christmas and new year.

Still seems a bit early 2026 but you never know in this day and age.

I've been saying for well over a year that the Prime will release in 2026. It needs to be remembered that Microsoft cancelled the mid-generation refresh for the Series consoles, probably due to the lacklustre sales of the Series consoles, but possibly also because they realised that to make a meaningful upgrade for the Series the cost would increase considerably. Microsoft likely decided that they stood a better chance of succeeding with a truly next generation console, rather than a minimal step up with a mid-generation refresh, a step that that Sony took, and that many think was a mistake considering the pretty minimal improvement of the Pro over the PS5. Microsoft said they were cancelling the mid-generation refresh in order to concentrate on the Prime a while back now, and that means they could easily beat Sony by two years in bringing their next generation of console to the market.

Truthfully, I don't think that beating Sony to the market will make that much difference to the fortunes of Microsoft when it comes to consoles. I think the next console will be the last that Microsoft produce, though I do think that Microsoft have a incredibly bright future as a publisher. Whether Game Pass can survive another generation, I think is doubtful. We keep hearing that more than 50% of subscribers are tied to the Xbox consoles, so it figures that if console sales fall then so too subscriber numbers. There is definitely a tipping point at which Game Pass becomes unsustainable for Microsoft. When that point is reached? Who knows. However, I think that point will be hit next generation, and that Game Pass will then morph into a first-party only service that PlayStation will then allow on to its system...

I won't be upgrading either for a few more years. I do like that name though 'Xbox Prime'

Not a ***** chance with the economy. People literally couldn't GET a Series X for an entire year in 2020. With the cost of everything a new Xbox would be £700.

No chance people would buy it next Christmas when games are going to keep coming for S/X.

Unless it's modular/upgradable i think it would be a fascinating mistake.

A 3 tiered ecosystem...... devs can barely handle 1 closed system at a time.
Not to mention the world economy is a *****

@dreadful people are depressing. Christmas 2026 is a year and a half away.

I can see it happening or not happening. I will say if I were Microsoft based on how much hardware seems to have peaked last gen, I'd do what has already been suggested in interviews and move ahead with new major hardware every 5 years and no more "generations". No mid gen upgrades or pro consoles either. Just major new hardware every five years. If they can manage that starting in 2026 then that'd be amazing because it'd mean new hardware falls on every 5th and 10th anniversary for Xbox.

I also think this needs to coincide with a major upgrade to Windows PC gaming that gives an Xbox mode or something similar to Steam and brings everything more in line with each other. Then Microsoft can continue to do their Xbox hardware and have windows OEMs with an Xbox mode and sticker and make it so that it's easy as pie to support Xbox across PC and Console. It'd be more interesting if in like 2028 they do their handheld that is a dual PC and Console device if that's like what has been rumored.

Really all we have is rumor and speculation. All I know for sure is that 2026 is Xbox's 25th anniversary. Their quarter of a century and Xbox is bigger than I ever. I expect them to do hard one way or another. It already looks like we're getting Fable and Gears E-Day in 2026. I think Microsoft would benefit a lot from an early next gen that launches their big anniversary year and tying together their multiple strategies better through it and separating themselves from PlayStation more as a result, but that's all just speculation based on rumor and wishful thinking. Who knows what 2026 will bring. We apparently still don't have the full Xbox 2025 lineup.

@dreadful Why are u so sure it's not happening? I got a launch Xbox in 2020. True it was DOA and I had to then buy one for £650 from CEX because MS didn't have any replacements to send me. Saying people couldn't get them is a stretch.

PS5 Pro seems to be doing alright......

@sixrings Especially because it doesn't matter of its true or not. The hardware technical capabilities of a console and the actual experiences we have we games based on game development are just two different things. Like on paper this generation is leaps and bounds ahead of last gen, but games aren't doing much with it and honestly what is their to do with it? Look more hyper realistic? Is even going from the promised stable 30 to stable 60 or unstable 120fps that big of a leap? Compared to PS1 to PS2 or 360 to Xbox One? A lot of games are still able to get switch releases and that current switch is still weaker than last gen.

@themightyant I think the main tech leap will be AI upscaling, similar to what AMD and Nvidia are doing with PC graphics cards and now PlayStation with the pro. More than anything else the next gen of consoles needs to have a minimum of 60fps that maintains good graphical fidelity including fancy features like Ray tracing. Just my opinion but if this isn't the bare minimum then consoles risk falling further behind even modest PC builds.

If GTA 6 doesn't come out this year then maybe because people start buying consoles just for games like GTA.

I know a few people that don't have a current gen console but they're planning on getting a new console when GTA comes out so if Microsoft does release a new one in 2026 it could be a smart move.

But on that note I won't bother straight away if they do because I want to get a top of the mark 77" OLED Tv.

If its over $500 I'm gonna just stick to cloud & series x.

You make it sound like Microsoft are known for making sensible decisions, @dreadful... 🤣

That's way to early release another console it's ridiculous xbox doesnt need more hardware it' needs the games which are slowly coming unfortunately to ps5 as well nobody can tell me this console generation is even close to reaching it's limits yet

Whilst I agree with you, @Dan1283, another way of looking at it is that Microsoft could be attempting to steal the march on Sony. Microsoft have already said they want to produce a console that Sony cannot compete with in terms of its specifications. Therefore, if we take that statement as gospel, and also the one in which Bond said the Prime would be the biggest technical leap, then perhaps we are going to see a console that really does change the landscape. So instead of bringing out a console that is only incrementally better than the previous model, bring out a Ferrari instead, and challenge Sony to do better. I'm not suggesting that a Ferrari would be enough to turn around the fortunes of Xbox console gaming, but maybe it will be enough to differentiate itself from its competition...

Until proven wrong, I am still very much going continue say the next Xbox console will be very much like the Nintendo Switch.

@dreadful hey now. Don’t speak for everyone. I’ll be buying one if it drops next year. Just like I snagged the series x at launch.

A month or so ago they had signed off on the specs and now there's dev kits? I just don't buy this one bit unless it's a portable using the same dev kits.

Xbox 2001
Xbox 360 2005

Xbox one 2013

Xbox series X 2020

@Fiendish-Beaver but by that logic, releasing a year earlier than Sony (while everything is still cross gen) would mean Sony would just beat MS specifications a year later.

Because they would know what’s in the console (just as MS do with Sony kit) that’s why they always end up pretty similar in terms of performance.

Is releasing early going to tempt enough of the 30million to upgrade to a new console?

Is it going to make PS users buy one?

@Weebleman yeah last week or so we have them talking about specs just signed off, CoD going to previous Gen.

Then suddenly it’s a new console next year.

Next year imo only makes sense if GTA is delayed. Because then it would be ‘best place to play’. If not people have already bought their consoles for it this winter,

I get what you're saying, @PsBoxSwitchOwner, and in many ways you are right. However, if we use that same logic we would never see another console released because technology is always being improved upon, so you could imagine a company saying 'Right! Let's get this thing to market!', and then a better graphics card comes to the fore, and it's, 'Stop! Hold up, we got a better bit of tech we can use.'. So they stop, source that component, and say, Right! Let's get this thing to market!', and then a better motherboard is produced, and they say, 'Stop! Hold up, we got a better bit of tech we can use.'. So they stop, source that component, and say, 'Right! Let's get this thing to market!', and... well you catch my drift.

There has to be a point at which Microsoft take their product to market, and it must be remembered that consoles is just a small part of the tech chain that they are involved in. Microsoft have their finger on the pulse when it comes to this stuff, they know what tech is coming, and when the right time to strike is. Microsoft know they have lost the console business, that is why this generation almost didn't happen.

Now, Microsoft are looking at the tech landscape, and potentially going to pick up premium items that Sony simply will not match because Sony are in a different place. Sony want to grow their console business in the fastest possible way, whereas Microsoft know that bringing out a console that is basically the same as the PS6 will do them no favours whatsoever, as it didn't this generation where on paper, their console was in fact more powerful. Microsoft know that they have a hardcore of gamers that will buy any console they put out, and that they have the opportunity to capture part of the PC market too by producing a very high-end console, which is why I still think it is possible that Microsoft may bring out a console costing not much shy of £1000. I know that many will say they won't do that, but just because the Prime costs £1000 does not mean that they will not continue to make and sell the X (I don't think that is true of the S though, as I think Microsoft will look to move away from that at the start of the next generation). What we do know though is that Sony would not look to match a console at that sort of price.

So, the upshot of all that is that whilst the tech may not be firing invisible lasers that will singe your eyebrows, it could easily be tech that features now in PCs, but which is too expensive to fit into a £500 console...

I mean, with all these leaks - they certainly may THINK or HOPE to release it in 2026 with CoD on release. But modern companies can't even release one game in time without delays, much less a console AND a game.
Halo Infinite should've been a launch title for Xbox Series that defines the whole generation, but was released one year after and now rests in peace.

I think 2026 for the new Xbox too, and like I've said a million times, I think it's going to surprise a hell of a lot of people (whether it releases 2026 or not) - many of which will need some humble pie.